City wants to rezone area along Route 78

Plan could lead to redevelopment

SAN MARCOS 
A 30-acre area of mostly small industrial businesses along state Route 78 in San Marcos could be redeveloped with restaurants, stores, hotels and offices under a city proposal.

The city is considering changing the zoning of the triangle-shaped area to encourage redevelopment and improve its appearance. Currently, the land is zoned for light industrial use. It consists of about 30 parcels, most of which are occupied by businesses including auto-repair shops, a fencing company, a storage business and an animal hospital.

The San Marcos Chamber of Commerce also is based there, and the city owns five of the parcels.

Although existing businesses wouldn't be forced out if the zoning change occurs, their ability to expand or significantly change their operations would be curtailed, city officials said.

The area, bounded by Grand Avenue, Via Vera Cruz and Linda Vista Drive, is in a part of the city that has seen substantial changes since the Las Posas Road interchange on Route 78 was completed in 2006.

That year, the upscale Grand Plaza shopping center opened just west of the area that the city is considering rezoning. A Marriott Residence Inn is being built on Las Posas on the north side of Route 78.

The city also has plans to widen a drainage channel that cuts across part of the area to prevent flooding and to support future development.

A developer in Riverside County has plans to build one or two hotels there. In November, the City Council approved selling the property it owns for the sole purpose of hotel development. The land is now in escrow. To build the project, the zoning on the property would have to be changed.

On Thursday, the city held a workshop to present the idea of rezoning a much larger area to residents and business owners.

Redevelopment provides revenue for cities because they can syphon off much of the increase in property taxes as development occurs. Restaurants, shops and hotels also provide hotel-room and sales taxes.

San Marcos isn't focusing so much on money but on the future character of the area, city spokeswoman Jenny Peterson said in an interview.

“Some of the proposed new uses have the potential to generate income, but that's not the purpose of why we're looking at rezoning,” Peterson said. “We're looking to examine the best use of that land. . . . As the community evolves, the needs of that community change.”

At the workshop, no one opposed the rezoning plan. But Dean Tilton, a commercial real estate agent, said he had reservations. Tilton owns a parcel and manages others in the area being studied. He said his concern was that existing businesses would lose the ability to alter their operations. Tilton said the council is considering a review of the city's general plan, and he didn't see a need to “jump the gun” by rezoning this area just yet.

“The city can do what it wants with the parcels it owns,” Tilton said. “I do not see, however, the necessity of that second level of control or awkwardness that would be put on the properties.”